Workers receive gifts after losing jobs due to COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

This is a key part of a proposal sent to the Government by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) this week, revising and supplementing the Government’s Resolution 42/ND-CP on supporting people facing difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the proposal is approved, some conditions and requirements for businesses and workers will be eliminated and simplified. The number of beneficiaries is expected to increase.

People who had to stop working temporarily will enjoy financial support from February 1, this year, instead of the current regulation from April 1.

Regarding conditions for loans to pay salaries during the work stoppage, MARD proposed the Government remove the requirement that employers have paid at least 50 percent of the work stoppage salary. This proposal is in accordance with Clause 3, Article 98 of the Labour Code.

MoLISA also recommended revisions to loan applications, procedures, approvals and disbursement, in which the employers will self-declare and take responsibility for the accuracy of the number of employees who stopped working, as well as their revenue, that satisfies the loan conditions as prescribed.

On the 5th day of each month, the employers will send the loan application to the Bank for Social Policies and its branches and offices.

Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Hanoisme) Mac Quoc Anh said the association's members agreed with MoLISA’s proposal to loosen the conditions, so that the 62 trillion VND package can be put into practice.

“The application of this package is not effective because it includes too many steps and procedures,” Anh told Vietnam Television.

An incomplete survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that only 20 percent of businesses have received support from the Government’s packages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, a report from Hanoisme showed that, up to June 10, more than 400 workers who had stopped working had received financial support from the 62 trillion VND package.

According to economist Can Van Luc, the preliminary statistics to the end of July showed that the number of applications was equivalent to about 30 percent of the package value, while the actual amount disbursed was about 12 trillion VND, about 20 percent.

“With the Government’s second package, the estimated scale from MoLISA is about 18.6 trillion VND, I think this package shows the efforts of the State budget, however, its coverage is relatively limited,” Luc said.

Luc said it was necessary to drastically disburse these support packages to stimulate the economy.

“It is necessary to provide additional support for informal workers and seasonal workers, which account for a sizeable portion of about 27 million people, who have been severely affected by COVID-19,” he added./. VNS